Arcel
This area serves as the species overview. Basic Characteristics *''Type'': Fungoid *''Durability'': 6 *''Learning Rate'': 5 *''Science: Excellent *Navigation: Poor *Tactical: Poor *Engineering: Average *Communication: Good *Medicine: Excellent *''Genders: 2 *''Life Stages'': Adolescent at 4 years. Adult at 8 years. Middle Age at 17 years. Old Age at 29 years. Venerable Age at 37 years. *''Lifespan'': 40 + 2d10 years. *''Height'': 3.0 meters; 2.1 + (1d5 * 0.3) meters. *''Mass'': 200 kilograms; 150 + ((1d5 + 1d5 from height) * 10) kilograms. *''Niche/Symmetry'': Exotic Radial Consumer *''Speed/Transit'': Multiped, 15 m/rd (9 kph) *''Volume'': 0.2 m^3 *''HD'': 47/50/47 *''HP'': 60 *''Unarmed Damage'': 8 HP *''STV'': 442 MU (2210 MU/m^3) Physical Description The Arcel are large, fungal sentients related to the Tarn. While they are very slow moving creatures on the ground, they can traverse great distances on strong winds using their parachute like frames. Space Units Arcel ships are armed with communication Jammers that were given to them to prevent hostile Rokta scouts that would otherwise alert their massive fleet to an Arcel craft's location. The Arcel only recently began using this device on hostiles, when they realized that it could be used to flood an attacker's communication channels with their peaceful melodies, in order to calm their tempers. While the effectiveness of this tactic has not proven to be very effective, all who engage Arcel ships will hear their songs and poetry, like or dislike. Arcel Transport Communication Jammer Ground Units This gives a general listing of the vehicles available to the given race. Engaging the ground units of a species in combat will have the same general effect on the player's relations with the species as engaging their units in space. The mineral composition of ground units will be the same as that listed for space units, though the amounts will be somewhat lessened. Indication of "turrets" for a ground unit allow the unit to fire a weapon in any direction; otherwise, the unit must face their target before they may attack another unit. Ground units always include a very generic description of how the unit will appear. Ground Units in general use the same ratings as space units, but have a few additional properties as outlined below: * Still need a response on energy. **''Melee'': An attack that can only be delivered when that object's collision area is touching the collision area of its target. **''Flat'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on flat land. **''Mount'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on steep mountains. This will likely be determined by rapid changes in planetary elevation, though the exact amount of elevation change necessary has not yet been determined. **''Liquid'' The speed/efficiency the unit travels on a liquid surface (possibly also including ice and cooling lava.) Leave it here; you can try to make vehicles, but don't make it a priority. Ground Units Arcel: *Energy: 3 *Armor: 0 *Melee: 0 *Laser: 0 *Missile: 0 *Flat: 3 *Mount: 2 *Liquid: 2 A large, fungoid creature. It has a number of tentacles and a parachute like canopy on which it glides through the air. Floater: *Energy: 5 *Armor: 1 *Melee: 0 *Laser: Fuel *Missile: -1 (Heal) Arcel Floaters possess recharger beams and repair units that will be "fired" on any passing objects, slowly restoring their fuel and damage levels. Territory *'Patrol': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': None **''Beta Sector'': Prominent *'Space': **''Alpha Sector'': No Sphere of Influence **''Delta Sector'': No Sphere of Influence **''Beta Sector'': centered at 118.35x148.38, 19.75 parsecs radius *'Star': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': None **''Beta Sector'': 113x153 *'Worlds': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': None **''Beta Sector'': Arcel (113x153, p3); Zinharyi Station (113x153, p3) Status *'Ally': **''Initial'': None **''Final'': None *'Enemy': **''Initial'': None **''Final'': None Economy This lists what specialty trade goods the species will trade, as well as the general economic conditions the species' civilization is under. Specific trade good data for this species will be generated once the final list of specialty trade goods has been finalized. For the time being, this species does not conduct trade of specific specialty trade goods. *'Economic Status Levels': **''(World): Level *'Specialty Trade Goods Purchased': **Good (World; Coordinates, Planet) *'Specialty Trade Goods Sold': **Good (World; Coordinates, Planet) Economy Notes Economy: Depressed Buy: *Singing Beetles: 30000 STV *Musical Instruments: 6500 STV *Logs: 8000 STV Sell *Melody Album: 2000 STV *Tranquility Album: 3000 STV *Euphoria Album: 4000 STV *Delasa' alia Album: 5000 STV Supplemental Information The Arcel do not have strong desires or grudges, they are a carefree race who's ship crews simply enjoy drifting from system to system, returning to their homeworld or a foreign port to resupply every so often. They have no will to expand or colonize, though their ships often carelessly crash land on uninhabited planets, forcing the marooned Fungi to start small settlements until they can repair their ship or construct a replacement and return to the stars. While the Arcel are anarchists and thus have no central organization, they do relay rumors and observations to each other, whenever they meet or return to port. The Arcel civilization started out very similarly to the way it is in the present, except that they had a priest caste known as the Tarn. The Tarn were mystics who's only ambition was to learn the "Great Secret" that they had once heard a Numlox visitor speak of. When the Arcel became spacefaring, their Tarn leaders decided that they now had the means to seek out the Great Secret, and so they disappeared into the stars without much warning for their populace. Without the drive and guidance of the Tarn, the remaining Arcel were left to wander aimlessly, without purpose or meaning. It was not until many years had passed and the fabric of Arcel society had finally unraveled, that the radial sentients finally decided what they wanted to do to change things - nothing! The Arcel had found that they actually preferred Anarchy, greatly. It was agreed by all individuals of the fungal species, that hard-working, struggling, and societal structure were unnecessary detractors of happiness, since things usually worked out in the end anyway, and if they didn't, you wouldn't have to suffer for too long before you were simply dead. Trying to fight for survival would only prolong your unhappiness. The new anarchical society and non-worrying attitude left Arcel individuals to whatever personal quests they wished. A few turned to star-drifting and exploration. When they returned, they brought home tails of incredibly beautiful cosmic phenomena and bizarre alien mysteries. Soon, more and more Arcel were constructing large ships in which to embark on their own adventures. Their great age of exploration had begun. In a short span of time, the Arcel launched so many craft to wander the deep space of the Beta Sector, that there was very little that went on that they did not observe and very few races that they did not contact on a regular basis (especially the Minstrels, who's songs the Arcel enjoyed greatly.) Unfortunately, they were not as keen on piloting and navigation, as they were on surveillance. The only thing that kept the majority of the Arcel from running into planets, asteroids, and other ships, was the Numlox fleet, which would tow their craft out of harms way before most of their accidents took place. The Arcel eventually managed to put even the skills of the powerful and adaptive Numlox to the test, though. A few months before the one thousandth anniversary of the Arcel's anarchical realization, a large comet was spotted in their inner home system, with a course that was projected to bring it close to their homeworld on the anniversary. Such good fortune was viewed by the Fungi sentients as a rare gift from their single ancient god, Visal, the silent observer or "bringer of mostly nothing." But despite the proximity of the celestial sphere's passing, it would only appear a little larger than the moon of their world. So a dozen or so Arcel crews decided to increase the beauty of the coming event, by pulling the comet's course much closer to the homeworld, with their ships. They were extremely successful, and in three months it was apparent just how successful they had been. With a couple days remaining before the anniversary celebration, the comet appeared bigger than the sun and it was now obvious the festivities would double as a funeral. Fortunately, the Numlox had already dispatched a small fleet to take care of the situation. The night of the Arcel species' would-be demise, was instead marked by a great heavenly display, as millions of icy fragments streaked across the sky as falling stars. This reversal of fates, was taken as proof of how well doing nothing works in dire situations. Ages later, the Uhlek arrived at the coreward edge of the Beta Sector. Their attempts at invasion forced the Numlox to commit the vast majority of their resources toward holding the front. Nothing could be spared to police the inner territories, leaving the Arcel to their own devices. In this time, one quarter of Arcel ships were lost to collisions, and another tenth to landings on worlds of extreme gravity. But the fortunes of the Arcel were again changed after one of their craft slammed into a major Harsyrak port city. The destruction and chaos caught their attention. So in the interest of maintaining intra-sectoral order, the Harsyrak retrofitted the Arcel's ships with user friendly navigation devices and automated defense systems. They also established a system of warning buoys, to further keep the clumsy fungi out of harms way. All went well for some time after the Harsyrak intervention, but trouble was brewing on the Numlox-Uhlek front. The majority of the Numlox fleet had disappeared from the sector, forcing the remainder to retreat and allow the Uhlek to flood the inner territories. Any ship that was caught in the path of the invading aliens was destroyed. By the time the wave had passed, the Arcel fleet was reduced to a modest quantity. The Numlox spent little time recovering from the war, before they embarked on another massive defensive project, with the aid of the Harsyrak. They began constructing massive planetary radiation shields around all of the inhabited worlds in the sector. In time, the usefulness of this system became apparent, when a travelling crystalline world arrived. The apocalyptic solar flaring that it caused, would normally have left the local space as a lifeless void. But the sheer power of total noninterference had allowed their species to survive, the Arcel once again decided. The massively increased solar activity also gave extra wind to the solar sails of Arcel ships, increasing their exploratory activities. It was during this time, that an especially clever Arcel crew did what no other species would succeed in doing for a long time to come. Using the core of the unfinished defense system over the now ruined Klaptur homeworld, the explorers managed to land on the Crystal Planet unscathed. On the surface, they made contact with its creators, the Ancients, and learned much about them and their vast knowledge. When they returned to their homeworld, they told stories of the secrets they had uncovered, to their fellow Arcel. Unluckily though, a less than unusual navigational error later killed the fearless explorers, along with some of their knowledge of the Ancients. In recent time, the Arcel have continued their carefree lifestyle and explorations. While they are not attacked by the recently awakened Ancients (perhaps do to the fact that their ships do not use Endurium, or because of their previous contact with them,) their craft are destroyed on a regular basis by the increasingly aggressive Draconi and Rokta, which has kept their fleets at smaller numbers. In addition, the Draconi destroyed the Planet Sentinel that powered their primary refueling and recreational station. They have since been searching for a replacement. Importance After being given the Planet Sentinel, the Arcel will give their "Great Secrets" to the player- important knowledge about the Ancients, and the location of the Predator Mind. Because of the knowledge that they received when they first encountered the Ancients, the Arcel know about the Crystal Star and its defenses, and will pass on some of what they know to the player. Communication Text This final "stat" is a listing of phrases a species will use in communications with the player. For more details on this system, see the discussion on the Communication Mechanics, Interface and Engine. In addition to communications phrases, this section should include the species reactions to various communications postures, as well as their "threshhold values" (again, see the Communication Engine discussion for details). ''As a new species, there is (obviously) no old text to analyze. Communications messages for this species will need to be generated at a later date. Communications Messages Notes None at this time. ---- NEXT: Rokta PREVIOUS: Harsyrak TOP ----